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Piedras Negras-Mexico
Participants on the trip Wade, Dara, Caleb and Anna Gardner. Our friends Kevin and Debby Boggs met us there and helped out a bunch! Lew Stancer went along as an adult sponsor. Students included: Josh Dunham, Jelissa Livingston, Samantha Lechuga, Doug Ward, Matt McDowell, Amy (McDowell) Johnson, Dave Laubscher, Nathan Landry Wade shares about the trip Wow – how to condense all the stories from a week in Mexico (plus the road trip down and back) into a wiki post? We left Colorado and returned to Colorado in blizzards. In fact, the roads were closed when we wanted to leave – we had to delay the trip a few hours. The cool part was how in the midst of our need, it provided God some great opportunities to come through for us. And he did! Another huge opportunity for God to come through was when we were half way to Mexico, and one of the students (who had told me she had her ID) realized that in fact she did not have her ID! Yikes! With much prayer and deliberations, we decided that it would be pretty easy to get her into Mexico, then her parents could mail the ID and we would use it to get back. Well, Monday was New Years and the mail did not go, and Tuesday was the day off for President Ford’s funeral and the mail did not go. On the last day possible we were praying that the ID would arrive – and it didn’t. We prayed some more and entrusted the situation to God, and he brought us all across without a problem. Go God! The week itself was full of WORK! Framing in walls, hanging sheetrock and taping it all up, mixing cement with an “old-fashioned” mixer, then pouring sidewalks and foundations, digging trenches, painting, you name it we did it! It was a great opportunity for our students to learn some new skills and serve in an awesome way. The place we went (Vida Nueva Ministries www.vnmi.org ) is an orphanage, that takes in kids whose parents have crossed the border illegally and either died or abandoned their kids. It is a tragic situation, one that calls for incredible love and patience on the part of those who run the ministry. The ministry itself did a write up on us; you can find it on their web site at http://www.vnmi.org/index_files/Page1828.htm. They referred to our group as the “Campus ministry from University of Colorado.” Samantha shares about the trip I'm currently a full time student at Pikes Peak Community College. I'm interested in helping out others as much as possible, and I participate in many volunteer activities & groups. Among them, one of my favorite has to be Kairos. On the first Kairos South session, Wade brought up a Mexico Missionary trip. I had always been interested, but never really took a step past that. I began to pursue Kairos, and felt really comfortable with my peers there and began talking to them regularly about my relationship with Christ. I felt a strong sense of belonging, and figured maybe that going on the mission trip would really help further my path with him. I decided to sign up for the trip and I was really, really excited about it. Upon arrival I was taken by surprise by the type of community these people were living in. It made me feel much more fortunate to have the things I have and the place that I live in. In Mexico, I can honestly say that I've never done this type of labor before! It may not have seemed too hard for others, but I'm a pretty small girl, and the extent of my work goes to doing dishes. Here, we helped dig a sewer system, laid concrete, painted a huge windmill, and even broke through concrete. We worked through rain and cold weather, but towards the end of the trip it warmed up a lot. Although it was tough labor (for me), I can tell you I felt God's strength working in me. I knew he wanted me there, and I was even happier to be serving him. Actually, I was more than happy to be serving him; I was joyful! I was excited! I was every positive emotion you could imagine. Prayer time for me was honestly a highlight for my trip. I could just feel my relationship with Christ strengthening by the moment and a lot of things came into place. On this trip I met people who I can talk openly about anything; I've created friendships, strengthened them, and I've actually gotten an idea of what I want to do with my life. God has set out a wonderful path for me, and even though I have no idea where he is leading me, I know he has something special in store. Influenced by this trip, I’ve declared a major, actually two majors. I'm double majoring in Early Education and Spanish, and have strong intentions of teaching underprivileged kids and orphans somewhere in South America or even Mexico. I am so fortunate to have gone on this trip. I have grown in ways I never thought I could, and I am carrying this knowledge and strength with me constantly. I am reminded weekly, daily, hourly of the ways this trip has benefited the religion and path I want to pursue, and my relationship with God is growing in ways that I would've never imagined. This trip was something I will never, ever forget. 201247_10150539585565584_768650583_18088665_2110443_o.jpg|Nathan at sunrise. 201635_10150539587050584_768650583_18088683_1782032_o.jpg|Amy and Jelissa working hard - painting! 219202_10150539593835584_768650583_18088749_7967275_o.jpg|Dave - Man at work! 210387_10150539591635584_768650583_18088728_1625093_o.jpg|Josh, Lew, Dave, Doug and Wade - wall builders? 204903_10150539600210584_768650583_18088819_3088076_o.jpg|Nathan, Lew and Dave - the 3 amigos! 221530_10150539601305584_768650583_18088825_7323249_o.jpg|Samantha, Anna and Jelissa - ditch diggers! 204893_10150539908635584_768650583_18091499_5230151_o.jpg|Dara and the kids. 221400_10150539923550584_768650583_18091734_5073831_o.jpg|The Gardner's and the Boggs